As an incredibly intelligent Onii-chan, a part of me wants to say that intelligence is to an extent overrated. Most of us do not live in a meritocracy, but in a world that runs on nepotism. Being competent is not a recipe of success or social advancement. That being said, intelligence is not irrelevant here. For example, if you want to pursue a doctorate in some field being intelligent in a way that means you can grasp the related concepts of those fields quicker and to a much greater depth than most of your peers, then having high intelligence is invaluable.
Intelligence is a multi-faceted thing, to be clear. Even if I accept Elon Musk as being intelligent enough in engineering to go to Stanford, the man has the cultural sophistication, the self-awareness, and the maturity of a prepubescent boy. One does not simply accuse a rescue diver of being a pedophile simply for not wanting to use a submersible in a delicate cave rescue operation. To me, being self-aware and not full of hubris IS intelligence, just a different sort than how well one understands advanced mathematics. What sort of in-depth discussions can you have with someone well-versed in engineering principles, but so lacking in philosophy or critical thought, lacking in curiosity in any other subjects?
I think our culture here places too much emphasis on fields with tangible outputs, such as engineering, at the expense of devaluing the humanities. So I should say "I find intelligence with regards to adeptness in the hard sciences to be overrated". I wish people were more well-rounded these days, then they could be happier and exploit each other less.
Personally, I think it's a double-edged sword.
I mean, anything can sound bad if you lack all other qualities. This is not necessarily a drawback of being intelligent as much as a drawback to you lacking whatever it is that you lack. Getting closer to others has been a struggle for everyone, and you cannot rely solely on your giftedness in some field or your quick wit to sustain any long-term, meaningful relationships anymore than you can bank on personal beauty.
*Swishes hair*
I do want to say not to blame your intelligence or lack thereof on the absence of close social relationships. I think this is a terrible self-defeating and essentialist argument that "justifies" your loneliness. Many young people, especially young men, fall back on illusions of superiority to make their unintended and unwanted social isolation to be less pathetic. Even if you are in fact superior, you can still probably make friends. |